Ulster-Scots Agency

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 22 March (WA 73) concerning the 2004 budget of the Ulster-Scots Agency, whether copies of the minutes of 17 October, 30 October and 6 November meetings together with copies of e-mails and information following telephone calls referred to in the answer can be placed in the Library of the House.

Baroness Amos: Under Part 2, paragraph 2 (internal discussion and advice) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, it would be inappropriate for the Government to disclose documentation relating to discussions on the budget for the language body.

Ulster-Scots Agency

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why the Northern Ireland Department of Finance and Personnel did not support the Ulster-Scots Agency's business case for placing appropriate new members of staff on the salary scale.

Baroness Amos: The Department of Finance and Personnel has only once approved less flexibility than that sought by the Ulster-Scots Agency to appoint a new recruit at a point on the salary scale higher than the minimum. Nevertheless, this was sufficient to recruit the preferred candidate.

Ulster-Scots Agency

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 29 March (WA 127) concerning the budget of the Ulster-Scots Agency, whether the proposal to open an office, with appropriate staff, in Donegal was taken into consideration when proportionality of contribution by the two governments was discussed.

Baroness Amos: The Ulster-Scots Agency's remit is the promotion of greater awareness and use of Ullans and of Ulster-Scots cultural issues both within Northern Ireland and throughout the island. The proposal to open an office in Donegal was not a factor which required a change to the existing proportionality—the agency acquired the premises in Donegal back in 2001. Additional staffing costs in the agency were taken into account in the calculation of the budget for 2004.

Ulster-Scots Agency

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 29 March (WA 127) concerning the budget of the Ulster-Scots Agency, what consultation took place about the proportionality of contribution of the two governments; when the consultation took place; and who was involved.

Baroness Amos: There were no specific consultations about proportionality because no new factors had emerged which would have required consideration of the need for it to be changed. The budget was calculated based on approved actions in the agency's business plan in line with care and maintenance.

Ulster-Scots Agency

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 31 March (WA 157), who authorised the change of reporting funding requirements in December 2003 for the Ulster-Scots Agency; and when discussions took place on this issue with the chief executive of the Ulster-Scots Agency.

Baroness Amos: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given on 31 March 2004 (WA 157).
	There were numerous letters, e-mail exchanges and telephone conversations between DCAL officials and the chief executive of the agency on the funding drawdown request in question during November and December 2003.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many recruits on the Police Service of Northern Ireland's training course since its creation have also been on bail for (a) terrorist-related offences and (b) non-terrorist-related offences.

Baroness Amos: I am advised that no recruit on the Police Service of Northern Ireland's training course since its creation has been on bail for a terrorist related or non-terrorist related offence. All successful applicants who enter the training college undergo a strict vetting procedure.

Northern Ireland Housing Executive

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much, in each of the last five years, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has budgeted to purchase residences from members of the security forces who have been intimidated; and how much has been paid out.

Baroness Amos: The Northern Ireland Housing Executive does not maintain separate figures for purchases in relation to security force members who have been intimidated. Nominal budgets and expenditure including administrative costs of the special purchase of evacuated dwellings (SPED) scheme for the past five years is as follows:
	
		
			  Nominal Budget Actual Expenditure 
			 1999–2000 £3.5 million £5.95 million 
			 2000–01 £1.5 million £6.55 million 
			 2001–02 £1.5 million £11.31 million 
			 2002–03 £5.0 million £32.93 million 
			 2003–04 £3.5 million £45.0 million (Projected)

Northern Ireland: Suicides in Police Custody and Prisons

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many suicides have occurred in Northern Ireland so far this year and in each of the two previous years: (a) in police custody and (b) in prisons.

Baroness Amos: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) There have been no recorded suicides in police custody over the period 2002 to 2004.
	(b) The number of suicides/suspected suicides in prisons over the period 2002 to 2004, are as set out in the table:
	
		
			 Year Suicides Suspected suicides(1) 
			 2002 1 (1)1 
			 2003  (1)3 
			 2004  (1)1 
		
	
	(1)Suspected suicides—subject to proceedings at the Coroner's Court which have yet to be held.

Cross-Border Implementation Bodies

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 5 April (WA 183) concerning the 2004 budgets for cross-Border bodies, what were the increased running costs of £1 million allowed for Waterways Ireland; and why was a similar allowance not made for the Ulster Scots Agency.

Baroness Amos: The £1 million increase in running costs for Waterways Ireland is made up as follows:
	1. Provision for pay awards, including arrears in the South;
	2. Increase in payroll costs as a result of recruitment towards a full complement of staff;
	3. General increase in construction and administrative costs.
	The budget of each of the bodies is arrived at independently, and there is no automatic read-across from one to another.

Belfast Education and Library Board

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether primary schools in the Belfast Education and Library Board Area may purchase supporting services from sources other than the board; and, if so, whether the annual amount of board funding can be supplied to schools without deductions for these services.

Baroness Amos: No. Supporting services for all their funded schools are managed centrally by the Belfast Education and Library Board. Expenditure on these services is a charge to the board's centre budgets, not an individual school's budget.

International Law: Armed Intervention

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, and if so upon what basis and in what circumstances, they consider that the rules of international law authorise armed intervention by the United Kingdom to change the governments of foreign states.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: Under international law, force may be used in three circumstances:
	a) When authority is provided by the United Nations Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Security Council resolutions adopted under Chapter VII were the authority for military action in Iraq, as set out in the Answer given by my noble and learned friend the Attorney-General on 17 March 2003 (Official Report, Cols. WA 2–3).
	b) In exercise of the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence recognised in Article 51 of the UN Charter, as was the case with US action in Afghanistan in 2001.
	c) In exceptional circumstances, when it is the only way to avert an overwhelming humanitarian catastrophe, as in Kosovo in1999.
	The objectives of military action will vary.

School Attendance

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, in the event of an appeal against fining or imprisoning a parent for their child's truancy, the needs of the child are met if further discussions between local education authorities, schools and parents are refused on the grounds of sub judice.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: A local education authority has a responsibility to ensure that any child within its authority receives a suitable education whether at school or otherwise. Local authorities more generally have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need.
	Parents have a duty to ensure that their child of compulsory school age receives a suitable education whether at school or otherwise.
	These duties continue whether or not legal proceedings for irregular attendance (including an appeal against conviction or sentence) are under way.

Further Education: Funding for16 to 18 Year-Olds

Baroness Maddock: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they expect funding for 16 to 18 year-olds in colleges to match that provided to schools; and, if so, how.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: The Government have set out their investment plans for 2003–04 to 2005–06 to support their Success for All strategy to reform further education and training. These plans enable the Learning and Skills Council to increase funding for further education significantly. For the academic year 2003–04, core funding rates per qualification increased by 3 per cent for school sixth-forms and 4.5 per cent for further education colleges (setting aside the impact on rates of changes to targeted funds for pay and staff training and teachers' pension funding).

Azinphos-methyl: Inveresk Study

Lord Clement-Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Hollis of Heigham on 29 January (WA 57) on the Inveresk study, how they reconcile this answer with her letter to the Baroness Whitaker of 27 February which states that "trials of the kind carried out at Inveresk Laboratory are regulated under the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Control of Susbtances Hazardous to Health Regulations."

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: There is no conflict between the two. The Inveresk study fell within the scope of the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations. My previous Answer made the separate point that there is no requirement that such studies be approved by HSE.

Patient and Public Involvement Forums and Support Organisations

Earl Howe: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What plans there are to list all patient and public involvement forums and their respective points of contact on the website of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health; why this is not done at present; and why on the website not all forum support organisations have a contact telephone number or e-mail address.

Lord Warner: A full list of patients' forums and the organisations that support them is already available on the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) website. The website includes contact details and addresses for each forum support organisation. The CPPIH is in the process of updating this information and verifying further details such as telephone numbers and email addresses and will put them on the website as soon as they are available. Copies will also be placed in the Library.

NHS Foundation Trusts: Electoral Guidance

Lord Lipsey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What progress they are making to propagate guidance on electoral systems for foundation hospital trusts.

Lord Warner: The Department of Health has issued model rules and guidance on electoral systems for membership of the board of governors of NHS foundation trusts and these are available in the Library. The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 provides for the commencement of elections once a trust has made an application to the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts. The regulator is responsible for ensuring that an NHS foundation trust's constitution including its provisions for carrying out elections are in accordance with the requirements of the Act. The department will be reviewing the model rules in the light of the experience of the NHS foundation trusts which were authorised on 1 April 2004.